The Ultimate Guide of Chinese Internet Slang for Gamers
If you are working in the gaming space in China, you must know the top trending internet slang used by Chinese gamers.
From battle cries to taunts, these expressions are more than just words - they're the key to winning over the local audience and building your brand loyalty.
If you want to better understand the 700+ million Chinese gamers, here is your ultimate guide to the secret language they use.
肝帝：liver emperor (GAN DI)(Gamers who invest time and effort in games, oppose paying for progress, and are passionate about crafting strategies and accumulating resources)Gamers who invest substantial amounts of time and effort into games and demand intense competition, while being against paying real money to excel, are a unique breed. They appreciate the process of accumulating resources in games and believe that charging real money for progress is meaningless. These gamers can be found online almost every time you log in, with a deep understanding of the game mechanics. In addition to playing the game, they are also passionate about poring over strategies and even creating their own tactics. If you're looking to join their ranks, be prepared for a journey into the heart of gaming excellence.
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肝：liver (GAN)The underlying meaning of this term is to devote so much time to something that one must stay up late, which can be harmful to the liver. Although it is officially a noun in Chinese, nowadays it is frequently used as a verb by young people in China, not just gamers.
重肝期：heavy liver period (ZHONG GAN QI)This term describes the period in a game when there are many virtual activities and gamers need to devote a significant amount of time to the game. The term can be interpreted as "the period when gamers need to heavily immerse themselves in the game," with the meaning of "liver" as a verb as explained before.
长草期/咸鱼期/养肝期：grass growing period/salty finish period/nourishing liver period(ZHANG CAO QI/XIAN YU QI/YANG GAN QI)This term is used as the antonym to the "heavy liver period" described above, and refers to a time when there are not many activities in the game, so players do not have a means to spend much time on it. The term "grass growing" comes from the idea that when a person stays inactive for a period, grass will grow on their body, which applies to an inactive player. Another synonym is the "salty finish period," which describes the gamer as a "salty fish," implying a lazy person who just lies down all day long, and is widely used in other contexts too. The meaning of the "nourishing liver period" is straightforward: as gamers no longer need to stay up late to harm their liver, their livers can be nourished and protected.
氪帝 Krypton Emperor (KE DI)(Gamers invest real money to beat others effortlessly, are well-equipped and highly competitive.)This type of gamer is willing to invest a significant amount of real money into games to experience the thrill of effortlessly defeating others. As the opposite of the "Liver Emperor," these gamers are always equipped with the latest gear and characters, and are highly competitive against others.
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氪金：charge money to games (KE JIN)Coming from Japan, where paying money for in-game items is called "Kakin," Chinese gamers have adopted the term "Kējīn," pronounced exactly like "Kakin."
林冲（零充）：Lin Chong (LIN CHONG)The fictional character Lin Chong from the classic Chinese novel "Outlaws of the Marsh" has a name pronounced similarly to "零冲" (Ling Chong), meaning a gamer who has not spent any money on the game.
钞能力：money power (CHAO NENG LI)"Money power," a homonym for "super power," usually refers to the ability to do things through wealth that ordinary people cannot do. It can also be used to describe a character's ability to become powerful due to their wealth.
仓鼠党Hamster (CANG SHU DANG)
In addition to the newly created trending terms, Chinese gamers also tend to associate themselves with animals due to their shared habits, such as the love of collecting items and completing tasks in the game, similar to how hamsters enjoy storing up food. For gamers like hamsters, the joy of the game comes from the sense of accomplishment in collecting new items, while the most difficult decision is having to give up one item in their backpack for another.
海豹 Seal (HAI BAO)
The phrase is derived from the ironic expression "Are you a seal? You come ashore just to sunbathe." In many games, players use the term "seal" to describe a type of gamer who is usually inactive in chatting and only emerges to show off their achievements in the game, such as passing a challenging task or getting lucky with a rare character draw. Regardless of what they flaunt, they are sunbathing just like seals.
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潜水 dive (QIAN SHUI)As a verb, its original usage involves the act of viewing shared messages or comments covertly without actively identifying oneself, posting messages, or responding to others' messages. Usually, it implies the action of remaining inactive in group chatting.
晒 sunbath (SHAI)You may wonder why showing off is compared to seals sunbathing ashore. This is because the term "sunbathing" can be used as a verb to describe the act of showing off one's rare or special skills, similar to how seals sunbathe to show off their cute appearance.
Conclusion
New gaming terms are always popping up on social media. This post introduces the most representative trending terms used by gamers in daily practice, revealing the complexity of localizing and marketing games in China.As a gamer, I can relate to more than one of the characteristics introduced above. What kind of gamer are you?This article was written by Sean Suhao Xiao and edited by Kaitlin Zhang.Contact us for a free consultation on your game marketing in China.